Evander Kane scored once in a three-point outing and Zach Hyman collected one goal and one assist to lead the host Edmonton Oilers to a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in the Heritage Classic outdoor game Sunday.
Brett Kulak, Evan Bouchard and Vincent Desharnais also scored for the Oilers, who won for just the second time in eight games this season before a crowd of 55,411 at Commonwealth Stadium. Leon Draisaitl collected two assists and captain Connor McDavid posted one assist in his return to action after missing two games due to an undisclosed injury.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 24 saves to record his first victory of the campaign. The Oilers ended a four-game losing streak.
Nazem Kadri and A.J. Greer scored for the Flames, who have lost five straight games, all in regulation time. MacKenzie Weegar collected two assists and goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots.
Kulak, the former Flame, opened the scoring at the 4:19 mark when he pounced on a rebound for his first of the season. Shots on goal were 7-0 for the hosts at that point.
Hyman doubled the lead right after Calgary failed to convert with a couple of power plays, including a lengthy five-on-three advantage. Hyman joined a two-on-one rush and buried a pass from Draisaitl for his third goal of the season just before the midway point of the period.
With one second remaining on Calgary’s second five-on-three advantage in the period, Kadri notched his first of the season by deflecting the point shot at 14:55. The Flames were 0-for-15 on the power player over their previous five games.
Bouchard’s point-shot blast for his third of the season 71 seconds later restored Edmonton’s two-goal edge, but Greer was on the spot for a power-play rebound tally created by Weegar’s rush, and his first goal of the season cut Calgary’s deficit to 3-2 just past the midway point of the second period.
Desharnais restored Edmonton’s two-goal edge when his bounding point shot found the twine at 6:16 of the third period, his first career goal in his 42nd NHL game, and Kane’s empty-net goal rounded out the scoring in the Battle of Alberta clash.
–Field Level Media
